Cotton working method and machine



May 9, 1933. R. s. CURLEY 1,908,224

COTTON WORKING METHOD AND MACHINE Filed May 16, 1929 3 Sheets-Snee e 1 IN VEN TOR m BY m 4 ATTOR May 9, 1933. R. s. CURLEY COTTON WORKING METHOD AND MACHINE Filed May 16, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR May 9, 1933. R. s. CURLEY COTTON WORKING METHOD AND MACHINE Filed May 16, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 feed hopper inthe system showing parts of Patented May 9, 1933 UNITED sures,

ROBERT s. CURLEY, or LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO sAco-IowELL. snors,v or NEWTON UPPnRrALLs, nessncnusnrrsn CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS."

PATENT mes:

COTTON WORKING METHOD-AND MACHI E" Application filed May 16,

1 work it'into a finished lap in a single process and which are commonly referred to commercially as single processpicker systems.

In the past such systems have been used in this country onlyto a very limited eX- tent,lbut due to recent developments they are now going. into use very rapidly. The chief diificulty encountered in operatinga system of thischaracter resides in. the fact that there are necessarily verywide variations in the.

initial rate of deliveryof cotton to the system, and these variations must be eliminated as. the cotton passes through the system in order to produce a lap having thatwdegree of evenness or yard for yard uniformity which is necessary for carding. his the chief object of the present invention, therefore, to compensate for the variations in the delivery of. cotton to a picking mechanism, to smooth out and reduce such variations, to reduce the skill .required in handling such systems, and to deliver a substantially uni.- form web of cotton at the discharge end of the machine or system.

The nature of the inventionwi'llbe readily understood from the. following description when :read in connection with the accompanying drawings, a and the novel features will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

ln'the drawings,

Figure 1 is a verticalsectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of asingle process picker system embodying features of this invention;

Figs. 2 and Sam side views one-larger scale of said system, approximately one-half of thesystem being shown in each View;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of part'iof the first th conveying'system that supplies cotton to the picking machines; and i Fig. 5 is a'plan View showingtcertam parts of the control mechanism indicated-in elewation in Fig.2. I

In either the singleprocess picker systems 1929. Serial n, 363,586.

typical arrangement the cotton i's delivered from the bales to the-:bale'breaker and' dis-- charged fromthe balebreaker intoa yer-'- tical'opener, thence into alattice opener or horizontal. cleaner, and finally is; conveyed pneumatically to thepickerroom. A'single.

setof: opening and" cleaning. machinery will supply several pickers','and itis the usual? practice, therefore, to. deliver: the cotton-to the feed hoppers of theseveral picking ma chinesby aMorton distributor. The system shown in the drawings includes a hopper feeder 2; arranged to receive its supply of cotton from a -Morton distributor, the hopper ofthe'feeder being equipped. with the: usual feeler fork3 and mechanism-automati-- cally controlled thereby for governing the discharge of cotton from the conveyor gbelt,

4, Fig; 4, of the distributor into the hopper;

This mechanism is wellaknown'in 'thisart' and no disclosure-of it other 'thanthat made in the .drawingsis,necessary; As usual, thearrangement is such @thatrwhen the supply acrossthe conveyor. belt 4 and divert cotton into thehopper 2. The increasedfweight of cotton acting on thefeeler fork swings: it

back to its original position aften-a time, th'uscausingthe gate to close again and stop the delivery of-cotton tor-the hoppen/There are inevitably substantialvariations in thequantity of cotton-maintained in the hop,-

per 2. I These variations are caused partly by the nature ofthe. control mechanism and partly by the-cfactatha-t when more than one machine calls for cotton at the same time thefirst-machine in-the series receives its} supply of cotton-beforeany. subsequent machine can be-supplied. The hopper feeder 2- also includes theusualihorizontal feed lat-.-

tice 5- carrying the cotton forward toan incl-inedlattice '6' which delivers itto the dis charge-chute-7. p I

I cotton from one unit to another and with the in the rate of delivery of the cotton from In the arrangement shown the feeder 2 delivers its cotton on the upper run of a lattice 8 which conveys the cotton to the feed rolls of the first picker unit consisting, in this instance, of a so-called Buckley beater 9 of a well known type. From this machine the cotton is discharged into a condenser section 10 of a common construction and the web of loosely associated fibres delivered by the condenser is fed through feed rolls 12, Fig. 1, into a second or intermediate ho per feeder 14. This feeder is substantial y like that shown at 2 and is equipped with the usual horizontal and inclined feed lattices 15 and 16, respectively. The discharge chute 17 of this feeder delivers the cotton to a horizontal lattice 18 which carries it forward through suitable feed rolls and under the roll 19 of an evener mechanism 20, Fig. 3, into the beater 21 of another picker unit consisting of a lapper. The cotton passes from the beater through the screen section 22 and through the usual calendar rolls to the winding rolls 2323 which wind it up to produce a lap L, Fig. 3.

"Any desired number of picker units may be used in this system, and the specific construction of these units will vary with the requirements of different installations and the preferences of individual manufacturers, but for purposes of simplicity only two picking machines are included in the system shown. In its general organization the sys tem illustrated is quite similar to that dis- F closed in the Rowe application Serial No.

248,363, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

. As above indicated, the present invention dealsparticularly with the feeding of the control of the rate of delivery of cotton to the end that cotton will be delivered at a very uniform rate to the lapper so that the yard foryard variations in weight of cotton m the lap will be reduced to a minimum. It

will be observed that in this system the cotton is being advanced continuously from the first hopper feeder 2 to the lapper, this advancing I movement being produced partly by devices which perform simply the function of feedin'g'cotton, and partly also by the machines which beat, clean, or otherwise act on the cotton. There are very substantial variations the hopper feeder 2, and these variations necessarily continue inthe cotton as it is car-v ried through the beater 9 and screen'seetion 10 until it reaches the second or intermediate hopper feeder 14. The hopper of this feeder acts as a reservoir,'and due to that fact it tends to smooth out or reduce the variations in the movement of cotton.

It has been found that when a'feeder of this type is used to supply cotton to a lapper the laps tend to run heavy when the cotton in the hopper is maintained at a high level, and that they will run light or thin when the supply of cotton in the hopper is kept at a low level. Apparently this is due to the fact that the pins on the bars of the lattice 16 pick up and carry over more cotton when the hopper is full, or nearly so, than when the level is lower. But whatever may be the cause, it has been demonstrated that if a sub-.v

For this purpose a feeler fork 25 is mounted in the hopper in an inclined position, and is supported on a horizontal rock shaft 26 mounted in the upper part of the hopper. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that a horizontal arm 27is fastened tothe rock shaft 26 and adjustably carries a weight 28 which tends to swing the feeler 25 forward. A link 30 connects the end of the arm 27 with one arm of a bell crank lever 31 fu crumed at 32 and having an approximately upright arm 33 which is slotted to receive a horizontal rod 34. Two collars 39 adjustable on this red at opposite sides of the arm 33 permit a suitable adjustment of the arm relatively to the rod.v This rod is connected to the controlling element 35 of a variable speed mechanism which drives the elements that feed cotton to the intermediate hopper. Preferably this variable speed mechanism is of'the cone pulley type, and the controlling element 35 therefore consists of a belt shifte or belt adjusting device.

As shown in 2, the variable speed mechanism comprises a driving cone pulley 36 and a driven cone pulley 37 with a belt 38 connecting them, and the belt adjuster or shifter 35 controls the position of the belt on the two pulleys.

by a belt 47 from a pulley 48 on the motor stand or driving shaft stand 50.

It will be clear that if the cone pulley 36 is driven at a-constant speed'by the mecha nism just described and the belt shifter or adjuster 35 is moved toward the right, Fig.2, the driven cone pulley .37 willirevolve at a slower speed, while a movement of the belt toward the left will cause the driven'pulley The driving pulley 36 is itself driven at a substantially.constant,

to be revolved at a higher speed. The latter pulley is secured'fast on a shaftl-having two worms 52 and 53, respectively, at its opposite ends. The first of these worms drives a worm Wheel 54 fast on the shaft 55, and "this shaft geared toall of the feedrrol'ls of the'Buckley beater 9 andto a shaft 56 which operates theinclined feed lattice or apron 8 The other worm 53 drives a Worm wheel 57 fast on the shaft 58 and this shaft carries a sprocket wheel 60 which is connected by a chain 61 with the shaft 62 for driving the inclined feed lattice 6 in the hopper feeder 2. This inclined lattice and the horizontal lattice 5 are positively connected together in the usual manner.

It will thus be clear that all of the feeding elements between the condenser section and the hopper 2, including the feed lattices in the hopper, are driven from the same source but at variable speeds, andthat these speeds are under the control of the belt shifter or adjuster 35. This element 35, in turn, is directly and positively connected with the feeler fork in the intermediate hopper 14 so that any substantial movement of the feeler fork 25 produces a corresponding adjustment of the belt 38'and' therefore a change in the operating speed of the elements that feed cotton from the first hopper 2 toward the intermediate'hopper 14. The speed ofthe beater cylinder, the screens in the screen section 10, and the feedrolls 12 between the screen and theintermediate hopper remains substantially constant, but these elements can advance cotton only as fast'as'it fed'to them. They are inca able of. making any change in the rate'of elivery of the cotton. Consequently, if cotton is fed to themat a uniformrate they willadvance it at a uniform rate. It is, therefore, unnecessary. to change their speeds since the rate at which they deliver cotton will be determined entirely by the rate at which the cotton is delivered to them.

i The cotton delivered by the condenser screens 10 and feed rollsl2eslides downj a producinga more sensitive action ofthe feeler'25 and also ineffecting a more thorough blending of the stock. =With this arrangement the feeler responds very :quickly to changes in the weight of cotton inthe hopper 14 and produces 1 correspondingly quick 'inechanism, It will be clear that when such the lapper isYa'gainstartedfup the cotton feeder 14' to deliver cotton at a very uniform rate to the lapper. While some=variations in the weight of cotton in the hopper 14 necessarily will occur, the arrangement is such that these variations will be maintained withe in very narrow limits.

Between the hopper feeder 14 and the lapper is the evener-20 whi'ch operates still further to reduce variations in the' delivery of cotton to the lapper. Due to the factthat m the variations in cotton coming to it are small, this evener is enabled'to operate under particularly favorable conditions, and its own I operation is improved. It has" been found inactual practice that this system will produce laps even moreuniform than those produced by the old threeprocess-system, which heretofore has been regarded as the standard picker-system for fine work. 1

As the cotton is discharged onto the latm ticesor aprons 8 and. 18 from the discharge chutes 7 and 17 respectively, of the two feeders, there is some tendency for it topile up ina fluffy mass, and in order to avoid this difliculty feed rolls 65 and 66, respectively, an have been located to press the cottonrdown on to the respective lattices or aprons immediately in front of the point at whichit comes in contact with the lattices. These rolls are provided with relatively Wide ribs 'andthe 'roll 65 is ldr-iven'at a slightly higher surface speed than 't-helattice8 while the roll 66 is driven at a considerably higher speed, preferablyzat' least'twice'that of its cooperating lattice 1,8alnd'acts to crowdand pack the cotton against the first evenerfee d roll.. This increases; the accuracy of the evener mechanism. 4. When a lap has been completed it is necessary'to stop the lapper in order to takeout no the completeldlap andput into the machine the bar'or core on which anew lap is to be wound. This stopping operation is performed. automatically". by the; usual knock-off a shut down'o ccurs' the entire feeding inovementlof cotton from the hopper 2 toward the lapper 'ShOUIClbG stopped j Also, that "when jfeedingmechanisms should be started simultaneously throughout the entire system. i i.

Referring to F it will-be observed that the mail-rv shaft 68 of thelapperis driven by abelt connection tothe beater shaft 169 which, in turn, iscdrive'n at a substantiallyconstant speed fromthe overhead shaft 70. The driving conev 71- of the evener mechanism 20 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 7 2 which-carri'es aspur gear 7 3 meshingawith an angular 1y disposed spiral gear 74 driven from an- 7 other spur gear :7 fast on the shaft 68.

on the shaft 85 which, in turn drives the cotton feeding mechanism between the feeder ing an arm 97 for operating a clutch which 14 and the beater'21, said mechanism including the evener rolls; This is a well known arrangement. V v The usual, knock-off mechanism for the lapper includes a drop bar 80, Fig. ,3, which is pivoted or fulcrumed at 81. A rod 82 connect-s the lower end ofthisbar or lever with anupright rock shaft 83 having an arm 84 arranged to operate a clutch to start or stop the shaft 85 which divesjthe-cotton feeding rolls associated with the evener 20. The rock shaft 83also isconnected' througha link 101 with a. clutch operating lever 102 for throwing in or out the clutch which connects the worm wheel 77 with the shaft/7 8. Another arm projecting from the rock shaft. 83 isconnected by a link 86,1ever 87, and rod 88 to thecontrol lever 89 of a positively operating unit90 of the character shown in pending application Serial No. 192,910 assigned .to theassignee of this invention. This unit or mechanism is driven. by a belt connection to the beater shaft 69 of the lapperwhich runs constantly. Consequently, when the drop bar 80 is released it will operate through the connections just described to bring the mechanism or unit 90 into action. =This mechanism includes a slideor traveller 91 which is positively moved by. the mechanism toward the right or left, depending uponthe direction of actuation of the control lever89. When the bar SO drOp s the slide 91 is, moved toward the left, Fig. 3. A rod 92 connects this slide .with an upright rock shaft 93.,Figs. 2 and '5, and this shaft carriers an arm for operating a clutch 94 to start or stop the .feed rolls 12. J-Ximther rod 95 connects the shaft 93fwith a third upright rock shaft 9.6 carryconnects or disconnects the shaft wvith the worm 54.; The lattice or apron 8 and all the feed rolls forfeeding cotton from this lattice into the beater of the unit 9j'are positively driven fronithis shaft55 so that the'yare stopped when this clutch is thrown out. The rod 98, Fig. 5, connects the rock shaft97 with a lever 99 for operating the clutch which con trols the driving connection between the worm wheel 57 and its shaft 58' for driving thefeed lattices in the first hopper 2.

It will be evident, therefore, that the operation-ofthe kIlOCk'rOfi mechanism .for the lapper automatically shuts down all of the feeding mechanisms between the hopper Zand the lapper, and that when the drop bar is raised again to start the lapper into operation the feed mechanisms will all be started into 70 operation again automatically and substan-- tially simultaneously. lVhile the clutch opcrating levers 9 1, 97 and-99 are, not directly operated by the drop bar, they are operated indirectly through the positively acting powpickersystem which issuperior to priorsystems in the quality of the worlrthat it will produce, a This has beenv definitely established in practicaloperation of the system in many mills. Theqsystem is entirely automaticin its action. ,An especiallyimportantpractical advantage of this systemras compared with prior one-process s stemsis the fact that, it is much easier to controland that any machine is in operationfo compensate for varying conditions arev of avery simple nature and entirely within v the Y ability of the usual mill help. The difficulties of control which have proved troublesome in prior syssystem is used in connection; with modern opening room equipmentsuch asthat above described, nomanual handling of the cotton whatever occurs between the time that the cotton is placed inthe bale breakervand the removal of the finished lap from the picker system., In addition, as above stated, the system when properly adjusted can be made to produceresults superior to those ordinarily obtained by the old three-process picker systems. Some features" of thein'vention also are useful in other relationships than in the particularsystem illustrated. I YSThile cotton hasbeendesignated asthe particular fibre handled by the system, since adjustments which ,mustbe made while the .tems arepractically eliminated. Whenthe V this is the fibre for which the system is designed fundamentally, it is contemplated that the system may be'used' in the handling of other fibre and tl1e"te'r'm"cotton, therefore,

is intended to include any fibre which the ap paratus is capable of'handling.

' lVhile 'Ijhavefherein shownand described a preferred form of apparatus embodying the invention, it will be understood that this disclosure has been made rather by way of illusthis applicationqgand my copending appli cation Serial .No. 224,968, filed Octoher 8,. 1927, arepresentedin the latter case, the claims in the present application being confined to subject matter not disclosed in the earlier case. 7

Havingthus described my invention, what I desire to. claim as new is 1. That improvement in processes of pick ing cotton and the like, which consists in sub jecting the cotton to a plurality of picking operations and finally working it into the form of a lap, feeding the cotton continuously from one operation to-the' next, feeding the cotton through a reser'voir'between certain of the picking operations, and constantly controlling the rate of delivery of cotton to said reservoir in response to variations in the supply of cotton in the reservoir.

2. That improvement in processes of picking cotton and the like, which consists in subjecting the cotton tov a plurality of picking operations and finally working it into the form of a lap, feeding the cotton continuously from one operation to the next, feeding the cotton through a reservoir between certain of Y the picking operations, and causing increases or decreases in the supplyof cotton in said reservoir to decrease or increase, respectively, the rate of delivery of cotton to said reservoir to maintain variations in the quantity of cotton in said reservoir within very narrow limits. i

3. That improvement in processes of picks ing cotton and the like, which consists in sub g jecting the cotton'to a plurality of picking operations and finally working it into the form of a lap, feeding the cotton continuously from one operation to thenext, feeding the cotton through a reservoir between certain of the picking operations, and utilizing variations inthe weight of cotton in said reservoir to control'the rate of delivery of cotton to said reservoir to maintain said variationwithin very narrow limits. 7

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a hopper feeder, means forfeeding cotton continuously to the hopper of said feeder, said means including a picker, variable speed mechanism for driving cotton feeding elements of said means, devices operating automatically through said mechanismto controlthe operating speed of said cotton feedin elements in accordance with variations in the weight of cotton in said hopper and serving to maintain said variations within very narrow limits, and additional mechanism for automatically starting and stopping said cotton feeding elements in accordance with the demand for cotton fed from said hopper feeder.

5. In a single process picker system, the combination of a series of machines arranged to act successively and continuously on a supply of cotton to work it into the-form of a lap,

6 said series of machines including two hopper per. feederandsai'd picker will deliver' cotton to the second hopper in. accordance with variations in J the quantity of cotton in said second hopper feederpv 6.; Asingle process picker'systempompri-sing, in combination, a hopper feeder arranged to receive cotton automatically-from a distributing system, mechanism for automatically controlling the delivery ofcotton to saidfeeder in accordance with the requirements of said feeder, a plurality of picker units in series withasai'd hopper feeder and to which thecotton is fed successively from said feeder,'one ofsaid units consisting of a lapper, a second hopper feeder-betweensaid. units and through which-the cotton is fed from one ofsaid units to the next, cotton-feeding devices between said hopper feeders, variable-speed mechanism for driving said feeding devices, and means automatically re sponsive to variations the weight of cot ton in said second hopper feeder forcontrolling said variable speedmechanism to oause it to speed upthe rate of delivery of'cotton to said second hopper feeder when the supply therein decreases' a'nd to-reduc'e such rate of delivery when the supply increases.

. 7. A'single process picker system comprising, in c'ombination,a hopper. feeder arranged to receive cotton automatically-from a 'distributing system, mechanism forgautomatically controlling the delivery of cotton to said feeder in accordance with-the'requirementsof the feeder, aplurality of :picker units in-series with said )hOpper-fe'edertn'd to which the cotton is fed :su'ccessivelyfrom said feeder, the final unit =in-the series consisting of a la'pper, a; second "hopper feeder located between-saidunitsa'nd through which the cotton is fed from one of said unitsto the next, cotton feeding devices for feeding the cotton from the hopper of said'first :hopper feeder into the first of F said picker units, variable speed I mechanism for driving said cotton feedin'gdevices,a feeler inthe hopper of said second hopper feeder, connections for causing said feeler toadjust said variable speed m'echanismto speedup the'rate of delivery of cotton when thesupplyin the second hopper feecler= decreases and to slow down said rate of delivery when the-supply increases, and an evener mechanism for receiving the cotton from said "second hopper feeder andfeeding it to :said lapperysaid evener mechanism controlling the rate of discharge. of cotton from said second hopper'feederl 8. A single process picker systemcompris ing, in combination, ahopper feeder arranged to receive cotton automatically from a distributing system, mechanism for auto matically controlling the delivery of cotton to said feeder in accordance with the requirements of the feeder, a plurality of picker units'i'n series'with said hopper feeder and to which the cotton is fed successively from said feeder, the final unit in the series consisting of a lapper-equipped with an automatic knock-off mechanism, a second hopper feeder located between said units'and through which 7 the cotton is fed from one of said units to the next, cotton feeding devices for feeding the cotton from the hopper of said first hopper feeder into the first of said picker units,

variable speed mechanism for--driving said 7 the control of said knock-0E mechanism for automatically stopping the feed of cotton to saidunits and to said second hopper feeder jwhen said lapper knocks oil and for automatically starting said fee lapper is started up.

j 9. A'single process picker system comprising, in combination, a series of machines ard again when said 7 ranged to act successively and continuously trolling the second feeder vdriving the. cotton feeding'elements of said on a supply of cotton to work it into the form of a lap, said machines including alapper together with a picker'of a difierent type and two hopper feeders arranged one in advance of the other, variable speed mechanism for driving the cotton feeding-elements of said first feeder, means responsive automatically to changes in the quantity of cotton in the second hopper feeder for acting through said variable speed mechanism to control the rate of delivery of cotton from the first hopper feeder to the second hopper feeder, and an evener mechanism between said second feeder and said lapper, said evener mechanism con- 'and serving to feed cotton to said lapper;

10. A single process picker system comprising, in combination, a series of machines arranged to act successively and continuously on a supply of cotton to work it into the form of a; lap, said machines including a lapper'and two hopperfeeders arranged one in advance of the other with a picker unit between them, variable speed mechanism for first feeder, a feeler in the hopper of said second feeder, connections between said feeler and said mechamsm for causlng said feeler to ad uSt said mechanism in accordance with variations in the quantity of cotton in the hopper of the second feeder, and an evener-mechanism between said lapper and said second feeder, said evener mechanism controlling the second feeder and serving to feed cotton to said lapper.

'11, A single process picker system comprising, in combination, a series of machines arranged to act successively and contlnuously on a supply of cotton to work it into the form of a lap, said machines including a lapper and two hopper feeders arranged one in front of the other, the rear hopper feeder being adapted to receive its supply of cotton from an automatic distributing system, means asso ciatediwith said first feeder for automatically controlling the delivery of cotton thereto in accordance with variations in the quantity of cotton in its hopper, a variable speed mecha nism for driving the first hopper feeder, a

feeler in the hopper of the second feeder re I said lapper, said evener mechanism controlling the rate of discharge of cotton from said 7 second hopper feeder. I

12. Asingle process picker system comprising, in combination, a series of machines arranged to act successively and continuously on a supply of cotton to work it into the form of a lap, said machines including a lapper together with a picker of a different type and two hopper feeders arranged one in advance of the other, variable speed mechanism for driving the cotton feeding elements of said first feeder, means responsive automatically to changes in the quantity of cotton in the second hopper feeder for acting through said. variable speed mechanism to' control the rate of delivery of cotton from the first hopper feeder to the second hopper feeder, an evener mechanism between said second feeder and said lapper, said evener mechanism controlling the second feeder and serving to feed cotton to said lapper, and means for automatically stopping the feed of cotton through said entire series of machines When said lapper knocks ofi and for starting said feed again when lapper is started up.

13. In a single process picker system, the combination of a series of machines arranged to act successively and continuously on a supply of loose cotton to work it into-the form of a lap, said series of machines including a plurality of pickers, means for feeding cotton continuously from one of said machines to another, a hopper feeder located between said pickers, and means responsive to variations in the quantity of cotton in said hopper feeder for automatically controlling the rate of feed of the cotton to said hopper feeder.

14. In a'single process picker system, the combination of a hopper feeder, means for feeding cotton continuously to said hopper feeder, said means including a picker, mechanism for automatically controlling said feeding meansin accordance with variations in the supply of cotton in said hopper feeder, a lapper to which the cotton is fed from said hopper feeder, and an evener mechanism located between said lapper and said hopper feeder.

15. In a single process picker system, the combination of a hopper feeder, means for feeding cotton continuously toward said hopper feeder, variable speed mechanism for driving said feeding means, means for automatically controlling said variable speed mechanism in accordance with variations in the supply of cotton in said hopper feeder, a lapper to which the cotton is fed from said hopper feeder, and an evener for acting on said cotton between said lapper and said hopper feeder.

16. In a single process picker system, the combination, of a hopper feeder, a lapper, mechanism for feeding loose cotton from said hopper feeder to said lapper, said mechanism including an evener, a plurality of cotton handling units for feeding loose cotton to said hopper feeder, a variable speed mechanism for driving one of said units, and means for controlling said variable speed mechanism automatically in response to variations in the quantity of cotton in said hopper feeder.

17. In a single process picker system, the combination of a hopper feeder, a lapper, mechanism for feeding loose cotton from said hopper feeder to said lapper, said mechanism including an evener, a plurality of cotton handling units for feeding loose cotton to said hopper feeder including a second hopper feeder having a feed lattice therein, a variable speed mechanism for driving said lattice and one of the feeding units between said hopper feeders, and means for automatically controlling said variable speed mechanism in response to variations in the quantity of cotton in said first mentioned hopper feeder.

18. That improvement in processes of picking cotton and the like, which consists in subjecting the cotton to a plurality of picking operations and finally Working it into the form of a lap, feeding the cotton continuously from one of said operations to the next, accumulating the cotton between certain of the picking operations, and utilizing variations ROBERT s; CURLEY. 

